Hunted

by Sharon C. Cooper

  Myles quickly turned to the first kid, expecting him to attack. Instead, the bloody-faced teenager stood frozen. His wide-eyed gaze bounced frantically from Myles to his friends on the ground and back to Myles. Without a word, he turned and hightailed it down the alley before disappearing around the corner of the building.

  “Your ass is mine!” Geneva lifted the bat, and Myles ran over and caught hold of the weapon in mid-swing.

  “Give me that before you kill him.”

  “He deserves to die,” she shrieked and rushed to her vehicle. “Look at my car!”

  Myles huffed out a breath and winced when he saw the gash on the side of the kid’s head where he’d run into the side of the building. The boy was dazed and groaning in pain.

  Myles left him and went to check on the thug he had knocked out with a kick, the one lying facedown on the concrete. Placing two fingers against the guy’s neck, he confirmed he was still alive.

  “Stupid jerk,” Myles mumbled under his breath and stood. A former MMA fighter, Myles had knocked out plenty of opponents during his matches. He always fought to win, even though he hated the sport. He only participated because it was a means to an end, earning him enough money to pay for college. But going at someone outside of a boxing ring? Always a last resort. His hands and feet were considered deadly weapons.

  This was not how he saw his evening going. After the long flight from California, he’d planned to head home and camp out in front of the television for the rest of the evening. Helping Geneva lock up her shop was supposed to be a quick pit stop.

  He pulled out his phone to call 911 and watched Geneva as she angrily stomped around her restored 1966 Ford Mustang, checking out the damage. The sleek, light silver-blue pony with chrome bumpers and trim was normally in pristine condition. Not anymore. Not with two slashed tires and a shattered driver’s-side window. And that was just what he could see from where he was standing. Why she chose to park at the back of the building was a mystery to him, but telling her it wasn’t safe would be a waste of time.

  After explaining everything to the 911 operator, Myles disconnected and roamed around to the other side of the vehicle and cursed under his breath. Three teens, two slashed tires, and two smashed windows? And the guys stuck around… This wasn’t a robbery. This was a message.

  “I cannot believe this!”

  “Geneva,” Myles said.

  Normally, her bark was worse than her bite. Yet, when she whirled around, the murderous glare in her eyes could’ve killed someone on the spot.

  “Don’t you dare tell me to calm down! They are going to pay.” She charged toward the boys, but Myles stopped her.

  “I already called the cops. They’ll be here shortly.”

  “I don’t need the cops,” she snarled, panting, her chest rising and falling as fury marred her beautiful face. “I’m going to make them regret the day they ever touched my car!”

  “I think they got the message.” Neither kid moved, but one moaned in pain. “Do you know these kids?” Myles asked.

  “The one I hit with the bat I’ve seen around. I just can’t believe they…oh, no!” She gasped, fear glittering in her eyes before she jerked away from Myles.

  “What? What is it?”

  Geneva ran back to the car and yanked the driver’s side door open. She almost dived into the front seat before Myles grabbed her around the waist.

  “Hold up.” She wiggled in his arms, and he forced himself to ignore the way her lush backside brushed against him.

  “Geneva! Would you just slow down a minute?”

  “I can’t, Myles. I had something in the car I shouldn’t have. If it got into the wrong hands, I could get in—”

  “What? And where’d you leave it?” Myles edged her away from the car, then used the sleeve of his jacket to wipe tiny pieces of glass from the driver’s seat. If she had drugs hidden in the vehicle, that was a deal-breaker for him. The excuse he needed to move on.

  “It’s in the back, under the passenger seat,” she said, then ran around to the other side of the car. By the time she got the door open, Myles had found what she was hiding.

  “Really, Geneva?” He held up the 9mm, shocked and a little relieved it wasn’t drugs she’d been trying to stash. Then something else dawned on him and he lowered his voice. “Why are you rolling with a gun?”

  She waved her arms around. “Look at where we are, Myles. I’d be a fool not to carry—”

  “You shouldn’t be carrying, no matter where you are. Are you trying to go back to jail?”

  Chapter Three

  Geneva’s heart thudded against her chest, surprised that Myles would know something so personal about her. Something she rarely shared with anyone. But her initial surprise quickly spiraled into anger. If there was one thing she hated, it was people reminding her of the biggest mistake she ever made.

  “I’m not going to even bother asking where you got that information,” Geneva growled under her breath, her pulse still racing, thinking that someone had stolen her gun.

  For a moment, she wasn’t concerned about the bastards who had vandalized her car. All she could think about was that Myles knew about her past. Laz, her brother-in-law, probably told him. Or as resourceful as Myles was, he could’ve easily found out on his own. That was one of many problems in falling for someone with his background.

  God, what he must think of me.

  She usually couldn’t care less what people thought of her, but him? This was Myles. A man she cared about more than she dared to admit.

  What was it about this night? First, her sister threatened to send her back to jail. Then she learned that Myles knew about her stint behind bars. Both pissed her off.

  “What were you thinking?” he asked in that cool, calm way that grated on her nerves.

  As a convicted felon, it was against the law for her to purchase or possess a firearm. If caught, she’d be tossed back in jail, and her parents would kill her. The last thing she wanted to do was disappoint them again.

  “Carrying this around is asking for trouble, but what I want to know is why you have it in the first place,” Myles said in a low voice. The teens were nearby but not close enough to hear the conversation.

  Silence fell between them as they stared each other down. He was still in the driver’s seat while she stood inside the opened passenger door.

  Geneva didn’t bother telling him that she’d been having trouble with some punk kids who had been terrorizing the area. She only recognized one of them on the ground from a couple of weeks ago.

  “Listen,” Myles continued, but Geneva lifted her hand to silence him.

  “No. You listen. Hand over my gun and get the hell out of my car. Better yet, leave. I’ll deal with the cops myself. I don’t need your judgment right now or your help in locking up.”

  Without a word, Myles ejected the magazine, made sure there wasn’t a bullet in the chamber, then handed her the empty gun. He climbed out of the car and slammed the door, causing more glass to skitter to the ground.

  Anger propelled Geneva around to the driver’s side of the vehicle. Before she could get to Myles, he had his cell phone to his ear and stared her down. It was as if he was daring her to try and take the ammunition from him.

  “Myles, you’re crazy in your head if you think I’m letting you leave here with my—”

  “Yeah, this is Myles. I need a favor,” he said to whoever was on the other end of the call. He didn’t take his eyes off of Geneva, and his voice remained calm as if she weren’t glaring at him. She half-listened as he told the person on the other end of the line about her car and how she needed the vehicle towed.

  Geneva heard sirens in the distance, and they were getting closer. She glanced down at the gun in her hand. He was right. Bullets or no bullets, she couldn’t be caught holding a pistol.

  She stomped back into the building and hurried to her office, where she shoved the weapon into her Coach bag in the bottom desk drawer. Had she stayed outside any lon
ger, she probably would’ve shot Myles.

  “That’s if I had bullets,” she grumbled. She knew he was right…about everything, but she would never admit that to him.

  “Geneva, the cops are here,” he said from the back door, and she reluctantly left her office.

  For the next forty-five minutes, they spoke with the responding police officers. Both kids, suspected to have concussions, had been placed under arrest and carted off in ambulances, a police officer with each of them. Myles was concerned that one of the boys got away, but the cops seemed confident that one of the others would give up his identity.

  Right after the officers left, Myles’s friend showed up with a tow truck. Geneva wanted to cry at the sight of her Mustang. Her father had given her the car years ago, and over time, she had dumped a fortune into it to have it fully restored. He had suggested that she not drive it on a daily basis. But what was the point of having a gorgeous vehicle if she wasn’t going to drive it?

  She left Myles and his friend outside talking while she went back to her office. Not only was she still pissed about the car, exhaustion consumed her. Dropping down in her office chair, she propped her elbows on the desk and covered her face with her hands.

  What a day. It had already been long, but dealing with thugs, the police, and Myles had taken its toll. Not to mention that she had to watch her beautiful car get hooked up to a tow truck. All she wanted to do now was head home, pour herself a big glass of wine, and take a long, hot bubble bath.

  “You ready to go?”

  Geneva screamed and bolted out of her chair and snatched up the crystal paperweight from her desk. She was prepared to use it as a weapon when she turned to find Myles standing a couple of feet behind her.

  “What the fu…” With her chest heaving, she caught herself before dropping the f-bomb. “What is wrong with you? You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that,” she yelled. Her grip on the rectangular paperweight was so tight that it was cutting into her palm.

  Myles glanced from her face to her hand with one brow arched. He didn’t miss anything, and the way he moved around like a damn ghost was a bit unnerving. His stealthiness was so creepy at times, she wouldn’t be surprised if he could walk through the damn walls.

  Geneva blew out a tired breath and set her makeshift weapon on the desk.

  “My guy can take care of your tires in the morning. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have windows for your car on hand, but he can get a hold of them in the next day or two.”

  Geneva released a long sigh. “Thanks,” she finally said. She never liked asking for help. Never wanted to owe anyone. Yet, at that time of night, had Myles not been there, she didn’t even want to think about what could’ve happened to her.

  A shiver rocked her body just thinking about how things could’ve played out had she stepped into that alley alone. Her bat might not have been enough.

  “I appreciate you being here and handling those delinquents tonight.” Closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose, she also knew she needed to apologize to Myles. “And sorry about being a…a jerk and giving you a hard time tonight about…about everything,” she murmured.

  Myles stepped forward and gently brushed a loose strand of hair away from her eyes, and Geneva swallowed hard. This man was such a temptation. The woodsy scent of his enticing cologne surrounded her like a cozy blanket and sent her body temperature rising. His nearness and his fragrance made her want to bury her nose into the crook of his neck for a better whiff. He smelled just that good.

  How could she stay annoyed at him when her body craved every inch of the man?

  “I’m glad I was here,” he said. “Laz and I will coordinate something to make sure you don’t have to lock up alone while we get to the bottom of whoever’s terrorizing the area.”

  Geneva recognized that statement as his way of saying we won’t be sitting around waiting for the cops to get a handle on the situation.

  “Come on. Let’s get out of here,” Myles said. With no other option available, Geneva reluctantly grabbed her stuff and followed him out.

  When they were finally on their way to her house, Myles said, “Let’s talk.”

  Geneva held up her hand. “Let’s not. Unless you’re planning to give me my ammunition back.”

  Without taking his eyes off the road, he dug into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out the magazine for her 9mm.

  “Here. Now, tell me how you ended up in jail.”

  Geneva didn’t bother slipping the magazine back into the gun. She just dropped it into her handbag. “So, you know I did time, but you don’t know why?”

  “Just tell me. I want to hear your version.”

  Geneva sighed and stared out the passenger side window of his BMW as her mind took her back to that dark time. “I was twenty-one and dating this guy who my parents hated. You know how it is. The more they forbid me to see him, the more I wanted to. I’ll admit he was bad news, but back then, so was I.”

  Myles didn’t comment, not that she expected him to. One thing she had learned during their time together was that he was a good listener.

  “My parents were out of town, and he and I were hanging out at their house. Anyway, we started arguing about something. I can’t remember what the disagreement was about, but I told him to get out. When I opened the door for him, he backhanded me. He hit me so hard I thought he had broken my jaw.”

  Geneva didn’t miss the way Myles’s hands tightened around the steering wheel or the way his jaw clenched.

  “And then what?”

  “I got one of my dad’s handguns and went after him. He was getting in his car, and I went off on him. Telling him that he was crazy in his head if he thought he could hit me and get away with it. I didn’t take shit from nobody back then.”

  “Back then?” Myles’s lips twitched as if to keep from smiling.

  “Okay, that hasn’t changed. I’m just a little smarter now. Anyway, he didn’t know I had the gun. He got in my face and was calling me names and talking trash. Then he wrapped his hand around my neck and shoved me against his car. That’s when I pulled the gun from the back of my waistband. Needless to say, he backed the hell up.”

  “You shot him?”

  “Only a warning shot near his feet to keep him away from me. Heck, I could’ve killed the bastard if I wanted to, but I didn’t. I told him the next time wouldn’t be a warning.”

  “Why’d you end up in jail?”

  “At the time, I didn’t notice the neighbor or any kids outside. Someone called the cops, and I was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.”

  “And your mother couldn’t get you off,” he said as a statement instead of a question.

  Having a mother as one of the best defense attorneys in the state and a retired cop for a father might’ve been a good combination for getting her out of some jams, but not that one.

  “She tried. Since it was considered a public altercation, and I had endangered others, they sentenced me to three years in jail. Thanks to my mom, I only ended up serving eight months in jail and two years of probation.”

  Geneva stared back out the window, watching the landscape pass in a blur. It was a wonder her parents hadn’t disowned her for all the crap she had pulled over the years.

  “I know you don’t have a permit. How’d you get the gun?”

  Geneva hesitated but knew she could trust Myles. “Laz hooked me up.”

  Myles mumbled something under his breath and shook his head. “Why? Why would he get you a gun when he knows you could end back up in jail if caught with it?”

  “That’s none of your business. The only reason I told you that much about me is because I figured you already knew most of it.”

  For the rest of the drive, Myles remained quiet.

  Her big mouth and her past had probably ruined any chance of them hooking up again. It was probably for the best. It didn’t matter that they were attracted to each other and that their chemistry between the sheets
was off the charts. Myles was no good for her. He would never harm her physically, but he had the power to hurt her emotionally. Geneva wasn’t about to let that happen.

  He pulled up in front of her house, and she glanced at the adorable two-bedroom, two-bathroom bungalow that she had called home for the past couple of years.

  Myles put the car in park. “I still can’t get over you living in something that looks like a gingerbread house.”

  Still gazing at her home, Geneva smiled. He was right. The house did look like a life-sized gingerbread house with the dark brick and a light gray roof. It even had a white picket fence around it.

  To her family and friends, the place didn’t match her personality, but Geneva loved her little slice of paradise. Her retreat. She had purchased the house at a state auction. Then she and her father had spent the last couple of years renovating it. She even had a garden in the backyard.

  She turned to Myles. “Wanna come in?”

  That hadn’t been what she’d planned to say to him, but that’s what came out. “You know what? Never mind,” Geneva said, thinking better of the invite.

  It wasn’t a good idea, and they both knew it. They might not want anything serious, but it was evident that their attraction to each other was stronger than ever.

  “It’s late. I have to get up early, and I’m sure you do, too.” She opened the car door. “Thanks for your help tonight.”

  “Anytime. Do you need me to drop you off at work tomorrow?”

  He made it so hard to despise him. “Nah, but thanks. I’ll find a way there.”

  Myles looked at her in that unsettling way that felt as if he was able to see deep into her soul. “I’ll let you know when the car is ready.”

  She nodded and climbed out of his vehicle.

  He’s not the settling-down type. He’s not the settling-down type. Geneva told herself that over and over as she strolled up her walkway. Heck, she wasn’t either, but her heart and body said otherwise. She wanted him. She wanted him badly.

  Now what to do about it…

  *

  The next day, Geneva leaned on the back of her salon chair and glanced around the shop while waiting for her client to return from the bathroom. It was late afternoon, and to say the salon had been busy would be an understatement. Even with five hairstylists, they’d barely been able to keep up. If they kept bringing in that amount of business, she’d finally be able to relocate to a larger space.